Hall of Famer, former Kentucky guard and Olympic gold medalist Adrian “Odie” Smith has passed away at age 89, with no cause of death shared as of May 6.
Smith, a former NBA All-Star, played two seasons with Kentucky from 1956-58. Transferring in from Northeast Mississippi Junior College, he is notably a member of Kentucky’s “Fiddlin’ Five” that won the NCAA championship in 1958.
The name stemmed from coach Adolph Rupp commenting on his team during the preseason.
“We’ve got fiddlers. That’s all. They’re pretty good fiddlers. Be right entertaining at a barn dance. But I’ll tell you … you need violinists to play in Carnegie Hall. We don’t have any violinists.”
That team faced a “Carnegie Hall schedule,” and went on to take the championship, topping Seattle 84-72.
“Those boys certainly are not concert violinists, but they sure can fiddle,” Rupp said after the victory.
In his tenure with the Wildcats, Smith averaged 10.2 PPG across 51 games, and averaged 12.4 per game as a senior. In that 1958 tournament, he put up nearly 14 points per game on the path to Kentucky’s victory.
“Odie holds a special place in the history, and the treasured heritage, of Kentucky basketball,” said UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart in a press release following the news of his passing.
“His accomplishments on the court – the NCAA championship at UK, two gold medals representing the United States in international competition, and his 11-year pro career – speak for themselves. […] Our condolences are with his family, his friends and the Wildcat basketball family that meant so much to him.”
Following his career with Kentucky, Smith was drafted in the 15th round of the NBA Draft to the Cincinnati Royals. He was let go shortly after and joined the Army.
While serving, he was picked to represent the United States at the Pan American Games, where he earned the gold medal. Subsequently, he was selected to the 1960 Olympic team and earned gold.
That Olympic team was then named to the Naismith Hall of Fame in August of 2010.
Smith eventually went back to the Cincinnati Royals in 1961-62, and after eight seasons, was traded to the San Fransisco Warriors (now Golden State Warriors).
He finished his professional career in 1971-72 with the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association. Over his career, he scored 8,750 points through 772 games.
His Hall of Fame accolades aren’t limited to just the Naismith Hall of Fame, however. Smith was also inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame, the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, the UK Athletics Hall of Fame, the NJCAA Hall of Fame and the Northeast Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame.
“What I remember most about Odie is that he had such a positive presence,” Barnhart said in the press release. “He was a bright light wherever he went, always smiling, always cheerful, and most of all, so incredibly proud that he had played for the Wildcats.”
